2022 Projects Completed

When looking back at the projects that I completed in 2022, I was really surprised. I started the year with a goal of completing some of my WIP’s (works in progress). But I soon started to make new projects. I started with 24 WIP’s and completed 6. I started 15 new quilt projects and completed 10. So, I end the year with 22 WIP’s. I guess that’s not bad.

Wall Hanging: Yellow Mini Challenge quilt – Birdie Lee Portrait quilt – Migrate – Mini Colors

Baby Quilts: Queen’s quilt – Little Critter – Pink Disappearing 9 patch – Blue Whale – and 4 Charity Baby quilts

Quilts: Oh My Stars – XOXO – X Marks

Table Runner: Holiday Bells

I also started and completed sewing projects for gifts, fun and to sell.

9 Book Sleeves – 12 Bowl Cozy’s – 4 Notebook Covers – 8 Pillowcases – 4 Table runners – 2 Halloween Treat bags, 36 Mini Drawstring Pouches

I purchased an Embroidery Machine and took a class. I made in the class an Apron, Table Runner, Potholder, Tag, and Tea Towel

I made 3 blocks for a collaborative quilt for my Quilt Guild.

And I made one scrapbook of my trip to Disneyland with my friend Vivian.

I think that covers it. Man, I was busy…

Completed Projects for May 2022

During the month of May I worked on several quilts at the same time. I was able to totally complete only 1 quilt. The “Oh My Stars” quilt is a free quilt pattern from Pat Sloan. I started watching Pat Sloan on YouTube during the lockdown. She has a daily YouTube channel. I was so impressed with her and wanted to make one of her quilts. The fabric for the top was a charm pack Benartex, Lemon Squeeze and fabric from my stash. The backing fabric was from Joann’s.

I machine quilted myself.

I also started a new quilt. I was asked to pattern test a throw size quilt, “Holiday Trimmings”, by Shereece Spain of Sew Hooked on Treasures. The quilt top is done but I still need to get it quilted. I decided to have it professionally quilted. I bought the fabric from Authorize Vac and Sew. This quilt came together very fast and easy.

In June, I’m going to be selling product at my first craft booth of the year. But, I’m hoping to have a lot more quilts done in June also.

Rose Block of the Month

I decided for 2022 to do my own Block of the Month, by making a rose foundation paper piece pattern. I had this rose fpp pattern in my library of someday patterns. My plan is to make one Rose fpp a month for the year. At the end of the year, I will combine the 12 blocks into a wall hanging.

The colors for each rose will be determined by the holiday or season of that month.

I will be pulling fabrics from my scraps. I’m using two green fabrics for the leaves and 3 different shades of color fabrics for the rose.

I’m new to foundation paper piecing and this was probably not the pattern for a new skill but after some unsewing I was able to get the first one done.

For January, I chose blue to represent the cold weather, February pink, March green, April orange/red/yellow.

With this exercise I am also learning about color theory and how shading and contrast is very important.

Hopefully, by December I’ll be a pro at fpp.

UFO Project Challenge 22.1

I completed my first of the UFO’s, Queen’s quilt. This quilt was made for my nephew’s daughter, Queen. I started this pink and brown polka dots throw size quilt in 2021. After I got the top completed, I was stuck on how I wanted to finish it. Know that I have my long arm set-up (Minni Pinni quilt frame and Juki tl-18qvp), I’m going to start getting some of my quilt tops completed. This is the first quilt that I’m guilting with my long arm frame. I watched YouTube videos several times to figure out how to load my backing, batting, and quilt top. Then, I got stuck again on the thread color and the quilting pattern. I quickly realized that there is a lot to consider with making a quilt.

I decided on a light pink thread, I made the mistake of winding on one bobbin. I know now to wind at least two bobbins. As for the quilt pattern I decided to quilt hearts. With using a domestic sewing machine, the length of the pattern is very small. On my machine, length is about 5 inches.

I made one pass of hearts and I was not happy with my inconsistency of my hearts. I talked to my daughter, and I told her that I do not draw well. She said that it probably looks fine. Then I thought that I need to give myself grace. I’m not going to be perfect the first time. Most long arm quilters have been doing this for years. Besides, this is not a show quilt. This quilt will be used by a toddler, it will be spilled on and dragged across the floor. I need to give myself grace to know that in time it will come. This is practice. And with practice it will come…

My 2022 Sewing Plans and List of UFO’s

A new year and that means sitting new goals. This year I decided to really take some time and go through my list of sewing and quilting projects. The last couple of years I have really made it a priority in my life to sew more. I’m a crafty girl by nature. I like to try most craft project that comes my way. Unfortunately, this means that I have lots of craft supplies. I have a craft space in my house, but my supplies have spilled into other parts of the house. A few months ago, I started going through my craft supplies that I don’t use anymore or lost interest in and I donated boxes of supplies to my local Girl Scouts office. This was a great feeling. I’m going to try to do this at least once a year.

Since I started sewing again, about 6 years ago, I remembered that sewing was my first love. I started back sewing by making baby quilts. And ever since my hands touch the machine, I was hooked.

I started this year taking inventory of my UFO’s (Unfinished objects) and WIP’s (Works in Progress). I’m going to dedicate this year to completing these projects. I also have a list of projects that I have not started that I still would like to do. And there are a couple of Sew Along that I want to participate in. Man, that is a lot for the year.

How many UFO’s do I have?

I have 24 quilt projects that I started and have not completed. Some are tops that need to be quilted and seven are art quilts.

I have a total of about 17 projects on my future quilt project list. “crazy”

I made myself a spreadsheet to keep track of my projects and process. I’m going to try to complete at least one UFO a month and possibly start a project on my future quilt project list. I realize that this means that my UFO count will not go down. But I have to start somewhere. I will post my progress. Wish me luck…

Do you have any UFO’s or WIP’s, if so, do you have any plans to complete them?

Holiday Sewing

It’s the end of the year and most of us are rushing around trying to get all our holiday baking and purchasing completed. But for some reason I have not been in the Christmas spirit.

I have a Christmas order of 31 Bowl cozies.

11 Notebook covers.

And I did attempt to make Banana bread. I’m not a baker but I tried.

But other than that, I don’t think I’m going to be doing any other Christmas sewing. Last year, I did the most with my 25 Days of Christmas where I made a different project for 25 days. Man, that was ruff, but I did it. But this year, I feel like I don’t have the energy to do much. I barely put up a tree.

I might be in Covid burn out. I’m so tired of isolation. I hope 2022 is better. I hope that we can turn the corner and be able to get out. I hope…

Color Theory

I’m trying to understand Color Theory. This is another tool in my toolbox to make better quilts.

Color theory is a body of practical guidance to color mixing and visual effects of a specific color combination.

I will be using my scrap fabrics for this process.

I started by making a color wheel with scrap fabric.

These are Color Theory terms that I will be exploring:

Complementary: Colors opposite from each other on the color wheel.

Analogous: Colors that are neighbors on the color wheel.

Monochromatic: Color with its tints and shades. Tints are colors mixed with white. Shades are colors mixed with black.

Split Complementary Color

Cool colors: Green, Blue, and Purple

Warm colors: Yellow, Orange, and Red

I chose to do this in a Log cabin improve block. I sashed the blocks in black. This really made the blocks pop. This was initially going to be a wall hanging but I really like where it’s going so I’m going to add more blocks.

Completed Projects for June 2021

I feel like I accomplished a lot of projects this month. First, I finish a WIP (work in progress). I made this baby quilt top in March of 2020. I finally quilted and stitched on the binding. This quilt will be donated to my local children’s hospital. The pattern is called Walk About. It’s a very quick and easy quilt. Good for a beginner quilter.

The next project that I completed this month was Father’s Day cards. I bought this card kit from Creative Memories, and I thought it was perfect for Father’s Day cards. I made and gave out 12 cards.

And my final completed project for the month was a Black Lives Matter quilted wall hanging. Last year SJSA (Social Justice Sewing Academy) featured a block of the month program and for July 2020 the mini quilt block was Black Lives Matter. I wish I did it sooner because I really enjoyed the process. This pattern pushed my quilting skills to another level. The background is foundation paper piecing. The letters are fusible applique then stitched. I really like fpp and will be making more blocks.

I also made three rainbow quilt blocks for @patchworklady_. She is bringing awareness to mental health and asked for blocks to make a quilt that will be actioned off. This is a wonderful thing she is doing for her community in Bristol.

I’m planning on Christmas in July projects. Hopefully, by starting in July I can get a few Christmas projects completed before December.

Projects for May 2021

I can’t be leave we are almost halfway through the year. I’m determined to have 12 projects completed in 2021. I wanted to complete the Mystery Quilt this month but unfortunately that didn’t happen. I did work on it a little more. I have all 20 blocks make. I’m quilting them the quilt-as-you-go method. I have 5 blocks left to quilt, then I can start sashing them together. So, I’m hoping I can finish this quilt in June.

My daughter Sandra recently got engaged. Me and Chuck (my husband) went to Southern California to meet her future mother-in-law. I wanted to make her a gift. I did some research and decided to make a Pojagi. Pojagi is an ancient Korean textile art form. Originally, a pojagi was a cloth that was used to wrap, store, and carry things. The original reusable shopping bag. The technique I used was reversible piecing where the seams are finished on both sides with no raw edges or seam allowance exposed. Like a flat fell seam. When I research how to make a pojagi, it was made by hand, and I thought that would take too long. On YouTube I seen a technique to make a pojagi on the sewing machine from Epida Studio.

I made it to hang in the window so when the light shines through it, it gives the impression of stained glass. My piecing was totally improv. I sketched out my design, then decided on a color palette and figured out the size of each piece. It became a big puzzle, with each piece sewn together.

The Pojagi was well received.

I’m glad I was able to get a project completed for the month. And I am hopeful to get more done in June. Have a crafty month.

Completed Project for April 2021

The month of April seemed like a long month at first, but now I can’t believe it’s the last day. I did not post a blog about the projects I wanted to complete this month, but I did get a few things accomplished.

The one quilt project I’m glad about is a Memory Quilt of my late Aunt Marion. She passed away a few years ago, and I asked my cousin Monique for some of her clothing to make a memory quilt for my Uncle Raymond. But in 2019 my Uncle Raymond passed away and I still had not make the memory quilt. Well, my quilt guild started featuring quilts each month on our Facebook page and for the month of May we are going to feature quilt to honor educators. This got me motivated to finally get this memory quilt made. My Aunt Marion was an educator, and my cousin Monique is currently a First-grade teacher, so I thought this is the perfect time to get this quilt done.

I used her clothes and printed photos on fabric to make the quilt top. I created a simple block design. I made sashing from a denim shirt of hers. To complete the quilt top I put a yellow and red boarder around to frame it. I made a simple backing and sent it out to be quilted.

I made some progress on my Mystery Block of the Month scrap quilt. The next step is to crosscut the blocks and add sashing and a middle square to each block. I have a total of 20 blocks. I was able to complete 9.

I also made a peg board for my rulers. I bought the peg board and framing from the hardware store. I painted the peg board with left over pain from my room. I cut the framing with a saw and adhered it to the board. I laid out my rulers to get the placement for the hooks.

I don’t feel like I got a lot completed for the month. But getting the one quilt done has motivated me to finish more quilt project. I’m hoping to get two quilts completed next month.

Rosewood Create

Getting my creativity a recharge. Posting crafts I've wanted to try.